In the modern motor car the passenger doors have become increasingly complicated. Thus, particularly in the luxury car sector, the doors may be provided with loudspeakers, electric windows and mirrors, and central locking facilities. This makes the assembly of such accessories in situ more difficult in the limited space available, so that is has become usual for car doors to be manufactured as separate sub-assemblies for subsequent fitting to the vehicle body.
In consequence it is becoming common practice for door hinges to be made separable, or of the lift-off type, with hinge pins engageable in bushed journals. However, when the door is offered up to the vehicle body it is often difficult to correctly align the hinge pins so that they readily enter the journals. Additionally, it is desireable to reduce wear in the hinges without significantly increasing the size of the hinge assembly.